Amnesty offered on taxes unpaid from '83-'02

November 23, 2010

Attention, Illinois businesses that owe back taxes but wished to pay them with no penalties or interest. Your wishes have been granted. A tax amnesty program exists until Nov. 17 for businesses that owe taxes administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue for periods from July 1, 1983, to June 30, 2002. Payment must be made in full during the amnesty period. The Illinois Tax Delinquency Act adds that any taxes owed from the 1983-2002 span which remain unpaid after the amnesty period will be subject to double penalties and double interest. The revenue department intends to focus henceforth on unpaid taxes. A company which failed to file or incorrectly reported liability on returns filed for the periods above can file the returns and pay any tax now, and penalties and interest will be forgiven. To qualify for the amnesty program, a business cannot be a party to a criminal investigation or have civil or criminal litigation pending for any tax collected by the Illinois Revenue Department. Some tax liabilities do not qualify for amnesty: • Taxes not collected by the Illinois Revenue Department; • Any balance due on returns for periods outside the 1983-2002 amnesty period; • Lien filing and lien release fees; • Bad check penalties; and • Any accepted offer in compromise. No application exists to apply for tax amnesty; simply make full payment of any amnesty tax liabilities before Nov. 17. Businesses can call the Illinois Revenue Department, at 800-732-8866, for copies of past years' tax forms. Revenue department officials said filing under tax amnesty does not increase a business's chances of being audited. "In fact," officials said, "taxpayers who accurately disclose all of their tax liabilities during the amnesty period will lower their chances of being identified for later audit by the department."